LEGO Star Wars: Skywalker Saga DLC Needs More Than Characters
The upcoming LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is already huge, but the game's DLC needs to do more than merely add characters. TT Games' LEGO games give players the ability to mix and match characters to adventure, bringing their favorite heroes and villains into stories where they have never been seen before. Numerous day-one DLC packs have already been announced focusing on bringing more characters from the wider Star Wars universe into the game, and the extended roster is exciting, especially for fans of specific shows. However, The Skywalker Saga could be better served by other kinds of content, with levels inspired by The Mandalorian, Rogue One, and Solo: A Star Wars Story all potential great additions.
LEGO and Star Wars have partnered together since the prequel trilogy to make LEGO sets, video games, animations, and more. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is the latest massive undertaking, spanning nine movies across three trilogies and featuring 300 playable LEGO Star Wars characters. Much of the game covers old ground in reimaginings of Star Wars movies previously adapted to LEGO by TT Games, and players will recognize iconic scenes and set-pieces like the Mos Eisley Cantina and the Battle of Naboo. Bringing all of this content - new and old - together in one game provides a cohesive experience featuring the latest and greatest improvements in LEGO games. Players can go on classic adventures across the Star Wars galaxy, visit locales far and wide, and pilot a large selection of iconic ships and vehicles - all with characters from decades of the franchise's history.
Of course, Star Wars is more than just its movies - numerous television series, comic books, novels, and games all expand the universe, often with stories that intersect with or inform the main trilogies. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga DLC characters include fan-favorite heroes like Ahsoka Tano and Din Djarin (with Grogu as his companion) to the game. Character packs for The Mandalorian, The Bad Batch, Rogue One, and Solo, along with other themed packs, make up the entirety of the game's announced DLC so far, and while bringing even more characters to the game isn't inherently a problem, The Skywalker Saga has a chance to do even more with its DLC.
LEGO games have long included large rosters with a number of obscure characters from multiple properties. This is largely possible as a result of how the series handles character abilities. Each character has one or more abilities for combat and puzzles, defined by what they can do or who they are. Some are lore-based - Jedi and Sith can use the Force and droids can hack terminals - while others are less so. Gameplay trailers for LEGO Star Wars: Skywalker Saga have revealed a new class-like approach to character abilities, where characters are grouped into categories like Hero, Scoundrel, and Jedi that all share abilities and newly-added upgrades. Consequently, characters of the same class will have similar gameplay mechanics and will be differentiated mostly by cosmetics.
But this also presents a problem, in that adding new characters won't increase the number or diversity of abilities present within the game. Heavy objects still need to be Force-lifted, terminals hacked, and crawlspaces crawled through, and each new character will fill these roles just as well as those in the main game. Unfortunately, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga's DLC packs are effectively skin packs, and while fans of the included characters should be able to add them into the game, this kind of content is ultimately somewhat shallow. Currently, there's little that differentiates Classic Darth Vader from regular Darth Vader, and while cosmetic skins in games like Fortnite are standard fare nowadays, it would be a shame if the new LEGO Star Wars' only DLC was character skins.
The Skywalker Saga could benefit from telling brand new adventures in the Star Wars universe. Disney+ series The Mandalorian has proven that Star Wars can be a mainstream success while branching off from the immediately recognizable trilogies, and despite the Skywalker Saga title, TT Games should follow suit. This isn't to say that DLC missions and stories need to be particularly deep or meaningful - LEGO games wouldn't be suited for that, as they're usually lighthearted cartoon-y parodies of their properties with a propensity for slapstick humor. But as a toy LEGO is fundamentally about inspiring creativity, and building a pile of bricks into a Star Destroyer is only one way to play. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga's galaxy map could and should embrace the freedom offered by LEGO by going against the proverbial mold by presenting original adventures, building a story of their own from whichever pieces they choose. This would fit neatly with the ethos of TT Games' series, which already feel like picking a handful of Minifigure characters to play with in exciting LEGO set-pieces. There is likely no better universe than Star Wars to draw upon for this goal.
Not to mention, previous LEGO games have already included DLC levels - later LEGO Batman games and LEGO DC Super-Villains. The option for DLC levels in The Skywalker Saga's LEGO-themed Star Wars celebration could at least be on the table. Rogue One, Solo, The Mandalorian, and The Bad Batch all featured great set-pieces that could work in LEGO form, but the current presentation of the DLC makes it seem as if players will have to wait to see the Battle of Scarif or Din Djarin's duel with Moff Gideon.
At the end of the day, The Skywalker Saga looks fantastic and will likely wow fans of Star Wars and LEGO alike. Only the game's on-launch DLC has been revealed so far, so later additions may yet impress, and a lack of add-on content won't fundamentally ruin a good game. Anybody who will enjoy the experience provided by LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga will do so regardless of the absence or presence of DLC levels. Still, this is a chance for TT Games to go above and beyond, providing its take on an original Star Wars story - however silly it may be.